Stephany Writes

Categories: Recurring Series

Wine and Love, V.9

Another Wine and Love installment for your Thursday. As always, hosted by the fabulous Nora.

W(h)ining about…

  • Family drama. I have chosen not to get into the family drama happening in my life right now on my blog. While there is plenty I would like to say, I won’t because I’m not going to be accused of airing our dirty laundry in a public space. But there is drama and a lot of hurt. (And I just really hope my future husband has an awesome extended family.)
  • Money, money, money. It’s hard being an adult, yo. I knew I would have a lot more on my plate once I got a full-time job so it’s not a shocker that I don’t have a lot of extra money to spend on clothes and make-up and fun stuff. Basically, when I get paid a portion goes to my mom for bills, $70 goes to a savings account for our upcoming cruise (to pay for my portion + excursions), and the rest goes to my own bills. Sometimes, it leaves me with less than $100 to pay around with, sometimes more. But it’s hard because I really wanted to start saving money but it just isn’t happening. It’s all been a learning process, though, and I think I’m starting to see how to fit everything in. (Plus, only four more payments to my big credit card and then I’ll be DONE with that. That’s an extra $245 a month for moi.)
  • A tough week, health-wise. This past week has just been tough, health-wise. It takes everything in me to either get up early to go for a run or go to the gym after a long day at work. There are baskets of bite-size candy all around the office and I’m back to wondering why it’s so hard for me to stick to a healthy eating plan when it seems too easy for others. I know I feel better when I eat better, but I’ve been hard-pressed to find many good-for-you meals and treats that fill me with excitement. And I like food a lot, so I need excitement.
  • Friends who are hurting. One thing I love most about this blog is the friends I have made through it, but I desperately, desperately hate when my friends are hurting and I can’t be there, in person, for them. All I can do is offer them a place to talk and give them as many encouraging words as I can.

Loving…

  • NaNoWriMo started! My first day went wonderfully, I wrote over 2,000 words. My second day? I decided to scrap the story I was writing and begin a new one. The one I’m writing now is flowing a lot better and just feels a lot better but I’m only at 1,077 words currently. I’m going to use the weekend to play catch-up and I’m aiming to be at 12,000 words by the time Monday rolls around. Eek!
  • #twookclub. I think I mentioned #twookclub in my last Wine and Love series, but I can’t tell you how excited I am about the group. We’re at over 40 members currently in our Goodreads group and picked the book last weekend (The Scent of Rain and Lightning by Nancy Pickard). The response has been overwhelming and amazing.
  • Running. Running, you say? Under the love category? YES. Yesterday, I ran (very slowly) for 20 minutes straight and I don’t think I’ve ever run for that long without stopping before. It felt surprisingly easy and maybe a little fun? I didn’t focus on the time or how much farther I had to go, I just focused on making it through each song streaming through my ears. Before I knew it, my Couch-to-5K lady was telling me I only had one minute left and I sprinted to the end. It was an awesome feeling and I’m starting to feel more confident about the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving.
  • Getting a new haircut! (Disregard my previous whine about money, ha!) I am overdue for a new haircut and I’m so excited to get my roots touched up and my hair in a style again. It’s been doing nothing for me for the past week so I’ve been wearing it up more often than not. I’ve decided to grow it out again and donate it to Locks of Love. My plan is to keep it long for my brother’s wedding in May and then cut it all off before I leave for my cruise (the following weekend).

What are you wining and loving this week? Help me choose which picture to take: Mandy, Heidi, or Anne?

Categories: Recurring Series

Everyday Moments: October 2011

1 – Being asked to be a bridesmaid in my brother’s wedding.

2 – Sleeping in until 11AM

3 – A really awesome run

4 – Dutch acting like we’d left him at the boarder for 12 days instead of 12 hours when we came to pick him up. (Our carpets were getting cleaned so he went to “daycare” for the day.)

5 – Early morning run and seeing the numbers drop on the scale

6 – Ordering an iPhone

7 – Being told to “keep up the good work” by one of my bosses (the one who scares me the most, at that!)

8 – Taking a 3-hour nap

9 – My brother coming over to watch the 4:00 football game

10 – My first spin class in almost a month

11 – Feeling stronger and fitter when I looked in the mirror

12 – Another solid week of weight loss

13 – A day of eating comfort food while feeling under the weather

14 – Getting my iPhone!

15 – Game night with my mom and brother

16 – Watching my mom PR in her 15K and taking a 2-hour nap before the 1:00 football game started

17 – Making it through spin class, even if I had to take more breaks than usual.

18 – The reveal of the Top 16 on X-Factor

19 – Being in the room as the winner of my work’s latest giveaway was revealed – and being on the conference call when the man found out he had won. Absolutely life-changing.

20 – A cold front finally making its way into Florida

21 – Managing the media department by myself for one day. It was the first full day off my boss has taken since she started over a year ago and I hope this means she feels comfortable enough to take more days off!

22 – Sweet moments of laughter with my nephew

23 – Shopping for my “Keep Warm, Look Snazzy Scarf Swap” partner

24 – A lunch date with my mom

25 – Making it an entire day without any soda! (This is major for me.)

26 – Finishing up Week 4 of Couch to 5K with an awesome, awesome run.

27 – Skipping BodyPump and getting a pedicure instead.

28 – A quiet lunch by myself at Panera

29 – Buying Dutch some special Halloween treats

30 – Organizing the first #twookclub chat for November and choosing our first book.

31 – Bite-size Butterfingers. Oh, my heaven.

Categories: Recurring Series

Ten on Tuesday (Vol. 41)

1. What is your favorite month?
November has always been and will always be my favorite month. It’s the kick-off to the Christmas season and features my two favorite holidays: Thanksgiving and my birthday! Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays, although it’s going to be a whole lot different this year. But I think the change will be a good one!

2. What is the best candy to get while trick or treating?
Anything with chocolate! I was always a sucker for Three Musketeers when I was little.

3. What kind of pen do you use?
I don’t have a specified type or brand I have to use. I don’t like gel-ink pens at all, though. I’m really simple when it comes to my pen needs. Give me a plain, ole ballpoint pen and I’m happy.

4. You go to a new Italian restaurant, what is your go-to order?
It depends if I was trying to be healthy or not. Let’s go with not, in which case I would order chicken parmesan. That’s my favorite thing to order from an Italian restaurant and surprisingly, Olive Garden has the best-tasting chicken parm, in my opinion.

5. If you could choose to have any celebrity’s hair, who’s would you choose?
Kate Walsh. I just love her hair. It’s so gorgeous and the color is fantastic. I want her hair.

6. What’s your favorite board game?
Trivial Pursuit. My mom and brother hate it but I almost always pick it when it’s my turn to pick. I’m also pretty darn good at it if I do say so myself!

7. Do you know how to play poker?
Nope.

8. What do you think about Old Navy commercials?
I think they are so cheesy and poorly done. I really can’t stand them.

9. What hurts worse- a stubbed toe or a paper cut?
For me, a stubbed toe because ever since I’ve started getting pedicures, my big toe will hurt like a mother if I stub it. The nail ladies go to town on my cuticles and the area is so tender for weeks afterward.

10. What’s your favorite kind of pie?
None. I’m not a fan of pie. In fact, I could never eat another slice of pie for the rest of my life and I would be just fine. The same could be said of ice cream. I’m not sure why, but pie and ice cream don’t tempt me in the least and I almost never have cravings for either.

*Questions found here

Categories: Recurring Series

Fill in the Blank Friday (1)

First and foremost, for everyone wanting to be involved in #twookclub (hashtag suggested by Tabitha and it’s a keeper!), I’ve created a group on Goodreads as a place to discuss happenings, vote on the monthly book, and just talk in general. It’s a private group for now (and I need a picture. That question mark is bothering me!) so if I haven’t requested for you to join, follow this link to ask! Everyone is welcome! And the poll for the November book is up, you have until Sunday to vote.

I’ve decided to participate in Lauren’s Fill-In-the-Blank Friday for the first time! It looks like fun and I’m all about taking it easy on Friday. 🙂 Here we go!

1. When I was a kid I wanted to be an author when I grew up. (Yes! I’ve always known I wanted to write. When I was younger, I had notebooks upon notebooks of story ideas, character notes, and plot outlines.)

2. As an adult, my dream job would be to be able to make a living as a published author. (See what I did there?)

3. When I was younger, I wanted to be like the other girls who seemed to have the perfect lives with no fighting parents, no money issues, no insecurities. (Of course, I know this wasn’t true and I know they had their own issues, but on the outside, their lives seemed magical.)

4. The childhood Halloween costume I remember most was when I was a witch. (Mostly because my mom hated it and it was a hand-me-down that was too long for me and I kept tripping over at school.)

5. My favorite childhood toy was my Barbies, of course!

6. The time I got into the biggest amount of trouble when I was a kid was when I …I’m not sure. I got in trouble for little things (like the time my brother and I woke up one morning and decided to paint my dad’s speakers with nail polish) but nothing major. I do remember once getting in trouble and my mom taking away my TV privileges, my computer privileges, AND MY BOOKS! That was the worst punishment ever.

7. I get daily inspiration from bloggers and my mom.

Happy Friday, friends! When you were a kid, what time did YOU get into the biggest amount of trouble?

Categories: Recurring Series

Wine and Love, V.8

Hosted by Nora!

Wine-ing about…
This could fall under the love category more than the wine category but my mom and I have been bombarded with fundraisers from work and my own nephew. (Yes, my three-year-old nephew is fundraising for his school.) Through all the fundraisers, we will receive one tin of chocolate-covered pretzels, one tin of Reese’s-like candies, a pack of Auntie Ann’s pretzels, and four tubs of cookie dough. Four. Tubs. Of. Cookie. Dough. I think I may as well kiss any end-of-year weight loss goodbye between that, the holidays, and my birthday.

I’m still not over Miami losing to Denver. I didn’t expect us to win. (At 0-5 before this game, you really stop believing in the W.) But we were up 15-0 with 3 minutes left in the 4th quarter. And yet we somehow managed to let Tim Tebow score two touchdowns, a two-point conversion, and take us into overtime. Which we lost, because Miami doesn’t play past the 4th quarter. (Overtime? Forget it!) Of course, we could have won if Miami could score a friggin touchdown. But they can’t and they lost and Mike Tirico called it the “Tebow game” on Monday Night Football. Right now, I’ll be happy to go 2-14. And that’s just sad.

Loving…

I’m really excited about the response to the Twitter book chat. The book suggestions were fantastic and I had the best time looking up what each and every one was about. I’m still not sure how I’m going to choose just FIVE for everyone to vote on, but keep your eye out for the poll tomorrow! (And you can still put in your suggestions – or second what others have suggested – if you want!)

I know I may be in the minority with this, but I am loving all the holiday decorations up in the stores. Yes, it’s only October but I only get this time for a couple of months out of the year and I want as much time to enjoy it as possible. I went into Bath and Body Works on Friday and it was so wonderful to see all the holiday decorations and new holiday scents. Ahhhh! I had this happy little feeling in the pit of my belly the entire time I was there. Nothing compares to the holiday season, in my book.

I went two days without soda this week! This is my longest stretch without soda in a very long time. I am terribly addicted to it but I know how bad it is for me. I know quitting cold turkey doesn’t work for me, so I’ve worked on dropping how much I drink a day. I’ve been able to cut down to one a day over the past two months and now I’m looking at cutting one or two days a week where I don’t have any at all. I want to get to the point where I don’t depend on it or need it. I think, more than anything, it’s more of a comfort for me than something I crave. (Surprisingly, I didn’t get a caffeine headache until 53 hours in, which is shocking for me, since it’s usually less than 24 hours in that I get them.)

What’s on your wine and love list this week?